Sheepdogs, CMW Indie Awards: Band Wins Four Awards, Jams With Paul Rodgers

The 12th annual SiriusXM Indie Awards marked the end of another year of Canadian Music Week (CMW) in Toronto last night. Saskatoon's Sheepdogs emerged as the big winners of the night, picking up four awards -- Group of the Year, Favourite Single of the Year (for "I Don't Know"), Favourite Live Artist and Favourite Rock Artist -- but the real surprise was their performance during the ceremony, which featured special guest Paul Rodgers.

The legendary Free and Bad Company frontman, who was in town for a CMW conference, joined the Sheepdogs at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel for three songs: "I'll Be Creepin,'" "I'm a Mover" and the classic "All Right Now".

"This has been a dream of ours," Sheepdogs singer Ewan Currie told the audience. Rodgers returned the compliment, exclaiming, "Man! These guys rock!"

After reuniting for a show earlier this week, '90s pop-rockers Treble Charger also performed at the Indies, as they were inducted into the Indies Hall of Fame. The band rocked some nostalgia with their two-song set of "Red" and the crowd favourite, "American Psycho."

"I remember you from 1997," lead singer Greg Nori told the audience.

Broken Social Scene's Brendan Canning presented the honour, jokingly stalling before the band took the stage by listing off the various side projects of Treble Charger's that Canning had been a part of. He also ran the audience through an impromptu history of the band.

"Remember when they were called NC-17?" Canning said. "Remember when Morris Palter left the band? I was there!"

Halifax native Rich Aucoin was the highlight of the evening, bringing his brand of indie party rock to the swanky venue. Aucoin is Canada's answer to the Flaming Lips and Girl Talk, but better. His life-affirming, participatory live sets demand attention as he instructs fans through every song as if the audience was itself a band member. Asking fans to sing along, holding up a parachute (a signature trick of Aucoin's), shooting confetti in the air and even convincing an entire ballroom to kneel down, sing and bounce back up -- these are snippets of the spectacle Aucoin creates.

Aucoin canceled an in-store performance earlier that day due to a pain in his side, and even though he was still fighting through it into the evening, it was not at all apparent that he wasn't feeling 100 percent during his set. This one-man performance force is committed to giving it his all whenever he takes the stage, and it not only results in a sure hit every time, but it leaves fans feeling appreciated and part of an experience that they will never forget.

In a short span of time, Aucoin has become the country's patron of preaching fun, and he's also an incredible artist. He is by far one of the best showmen in the music industry today. Aucoin took home SiriusXM's award for Emerging Artist of the Year.

The evening ended with headliners Passion Pit, who performed for the first time in six months, previewing a new song as well as performing hits from their 2009 album, Manners. The electro synth-pop band churned out a short set, potentially due to a pushed-back schedule, but still managed to entertain, the highlight being their 2009 single "The Reeling." Tokyo Police Club's Graham Wright subbed in as a keyboard player last night.

Dan Mangan, Pavlo, The Pack A.D. and Young Empires also performed at the ceremonies, and award presenters included Elliott Brood, Austra's Maya Postepski, Fefe Dobson and Mariana's Trench. For a full list of winners, performers and presenters, visit www.cmw.net.

Watch the Sheepdogs' Victory Photo Shoot

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